4x8 hydroponic system

Dabhead710

Dabhead710

Well-Known Member
Icic well never mind on that then lol.... However if you have any questions happy to help check out my old uc rdwc I made https://www.rollitup.org/t/let-the-wet-dream-begin-upgraded-cc-rdwc-4-bucket-720w-veg-1280w-qb-bloom-30gal-double-adj-floating.988039/
What buckets did you get as they have 2 different ones they have the new ones the growth modules that has the false floor with the drain well?? Or is it the ez store buckets like they used to use before they made their own??..
As if you have the ez store and you want a 8 site you should just get em now the ez store buckets are cheap also depends on lids on if you went with ez store cheap ones or current culture lids and net pots which I like their netpots alot actually...And lids are nice quality and the corners are really nice plus dont have to pick up the whole plant to check inside also the finger slots in the holes I would use for clones I could take 2 per bucket so 2 per plant and did great that way and cloned in no time too...
Bulkheads are a absolute must the current culture ones are really nice 2in u can get for 9-11ea if u shop around ..
Are u gna do water fall or airstones...Also do you plan on running a chiller too ...So the epicenter aka control bucket most ppl put theirs outside of the grow tent or room to check it etc now u said a basement too so you could run yours like I did and run the control bucket outside the tent and then go get a usb pc fan like the 120mm Ac infinity has 20 for both does 6w total and 108cfm total it kept my 100gal setup at 67-69 w 1600w of true power leds too even and NO CHILLER ...So check out my setup I had the chiller in it as I used to use it and then I did the fan idea which does wonders on if ur setup is in a basement that stays at 68-71 year round then using fans to blow into the res is DEFINITELY THEE WAYY TO GO HANDS DOWN CHEAP TOO...And I love DC power pumps too they do wonders actually everything I have is pretty much dc or usb powered for my grow....As I try and be as efficient as possible...Also pick up a water sensor alarm too as no water in rdwc will kill ur plants in no time if u do have a issue which will happen at some point that's a fact no matter what u buy quality and do it right just bound to happen to have a leak at some point so perfect to plan ahead that's for sure
 
AdmiralGeneral

AdmiralGeneral

Member
I bought the EZ stor buckets, 8gallon, with the older ez stor lids. Its very hard to find them in Canada for a decent price but i got the buckets for 24 dollars and the lids for 5. I havnt been able to find the newer lids, i was also wondering about which net pots i should use, thinking about using an 8" standard net pot, should be fine..?

Ive got 2" bulkheads

Im hoping being in the basement with airstones in that it will cool the res enough i dont need a chiller. I dont like the waterfall method as that is the only way this system can overflow. with under current reverse system there is no chance of the pumps overflowing anything.
 
Dabhead710

Dabhead710

Well-Known Member
Airstones don't chill the water they do the complete opposite as the air pumps actually warm the water ...And I was talking about waterfall with ucrdwc..Which can't flood either well unless u have a clogged 2in pipe it's possible...I ran waterfall for my bloom setup vs the air stones in veg and did wonders and most ppl would use their return pump for their waterfalls and just do a elbow in the system and call it a day....
 
Dabhead710

Dabhead710

Well-Known Member
Lol if you say so ESP w lighting too yeah and for rdwc water temp being at 68...Ya ur air pump is going to put out heat from it working and pushing hot air into your buckets..Therefore heating up your water Temps as well...Having the air pump in a cool place does NOT MEAN ITS PUMPING THAT AIR INTO YOUR BUCKETS FAR FROM IT..LMFAO
 
Dabhead710

Dabhead710

Well-Known Member
U also better have ur airpump higher than the water level is at all times as if you have s power outage it will drain thee entire system from the pump and destroy it in the process.....I am soo glad I don't use bs ass airpumps anymore and dealing with that nightmare not when there's better options for cheaper less maintenance and less work and cheaper and has a higher potential of causing problems from what's actually in your air!!!!! As your plants will get it directly to the roots and can cause problems over night in a heartbeat.. and if you don't have your airpump above the water level at least a check valve however they tend to fail from time to time and just easier to have it above the water line and never have to worry about it ever and it's free that way too
 
mr4tune

mr4tune

Well-Known Member
Dabhead710 said:
Airstones don't chill the water they do the complete opposite as the air pumps actually warm the water ...And I was talking about waterfall with ucrdwc..Which can't flood either well unless u have a clogged 2in pipe it's possible...I ran waterfall for my bloom setup vs the air stones in veg and did wonders and most ppl would use their return pump for their waterfalls and just do a elbow in the system and call it a day....
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Not calling you out all all, but I've found that air heat dissipates rapidly the further away you get from your air pump. Feel the manifold and then feel the lines near the stones. Night and day. I run 12 outlet pumps with m UC systems and yes the pumps get warm but all my air lines are 9' and theres next to no heat added. I also run a 950 GPH pump for 10 sites and I have a high return volume for the "waterfall effect". That being said if I was going to try to run these systems without chillers I would go with a smaller pump as the 950GPH gets hot running 24/7. I had a small fan blowing on each pump to combat the heat prior to installing chillers. If your running UC best to have a chiller anyways and negate all these issues. Regardless, you want air stones and a water fall effect returning water into your epi. Don't do the reverse flow idea dude.

I've never heard of anything in the air contaminating the water either, unless your using co2 and have your pumps in the same room.. IF your air is that shitty to begin with, then your already having problems.
 
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mr4tune

mr4tune

Well-Known Member
The system wont over flow either unless you really fuck something up. The pump is only able to discharge what it can intake. If you get roots blocking the connecting tubes somewhere in the system its only going to limit the discharge volume. To solve this potential issue trim all the runners prior to flip and you'll prevent roots from one bucket travelling into another. It's a closed loop system... Doesn't matter how much the epi bucket fills up, its going to equalize in either direction. Even if you had a 100% blockage on one side of the system, it will still go the other way. Thats not going to happen regardless.

I'm in Alberta so bulkheads north of the border weren't cheap. I run 1.5" between my 4 gal buckets I got from U-Line out of Edmonton. I tried going without a chiller and was hitting 80F. If you insulate the buckets they do okay for a day until they heat up. Even at lights out the insulation works against you and does its job but keeps them from cooling down. I was running UC roots @ 6mL/gal and had no root rot issues, but once I installed 1/4 HP chillers on each system and got the water down to 65F they took off running.

Run sterile, no bennies. You can make you own UC roots. I bought a 5 gallon bucket of 12.5% sodium hypochlorite from Home Hardware for $35. Take 7mL of that shit and mix it into a gallon of RO water and now you have a jug of water UC roots sells for $60+.

BEst investment ESPECIALLY if your going to try to skip the chillers is to buy a UV filter to run inline before your RO system. That will kill any of the bacteria you have in your water prior to putting it in your system. The DIY UC Roots will take care of any other shit in the system and defend against higher water temps.

I just spent the last while building these systems and sourcing all the shit within Canada. I've learned the hard lessons, so lemme know if you need some help.
 
mr4tune

mr4tune

Well-Known Member
I copied the build plans from a guy off another forum... Changed a few things and some lengths, but thats it... I need to do a res change I hook up a garden house, flip 2 valves, and the pump unloads the system into the tub in the next room. I keep 50 gal of RO in one drum, and then mix nutes in the other one. WHen I'm ready I hook up another hose to the pump and run it into the next room to fill the systems. I also have top-off reservoirs hooked up to float valves in each epi bucket. They are a must have for knowing exactly how much your girls are drinking per day. It's allot to build but it doesn't get any easier or faster than this...

Sorry didn't mean to blow up your thread, just wanted to help..
 

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Dabhead710

Dabhead710

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Having it 9ft away yes I agree u won't have heat but if it's right out side the tent a foot a way yeah it will I been there done that and used my fluke ir temp gun as well...I made a 1in manifold for my rdwc and it did wonders..I ran a 750gph on a x4 site 27gal well 5 w control bucket and 1600watts at the wall led true power and no ac my water wouldn't go above 69 w lights on AND NO CHILLER just $20 fans and 6w of power max too and then don't have to worry about heat from the chiller...But depends on your setup of course as with everything
And for the blockage all depends on where it would be could be blocked on the 2nd to last bucket and will still pump the rest of them and can flood that way ..As I had my 8gal buckets full of roots like pushing on both sides and everything but also had bulkhead filters that helps too but can still clog...
Nothing is for certain and anything can happen....
And in order to run w/o a chiller u have to substitute it with a fan blowing into your res and have a exhaust hole as well and problem solved I had 2 120mm 54cfm ea USB 3w per fan Ac infinity that cooled 100gal no problem...
And no power whore of a chiller or the 400+ for one too fuck that ...Not when a $20 fan can replace it and cost u nothing to run each mo it also won't put more heat into the room....just like so try it out got nothing to loose as if it don't work for some odd reason then return it get ur money back and get that power whore expensive ass chiller...and be paying as much in electricity for it as your light...esp if your basement doesn't get hotter than 71 it will work perfect as u can't use this for everyone pretty much for basements only and the res has to be out of the tent and it will work just fine and will save u like 1000% difference and then on ur electricity bill too ....As I will never use a chiller again at this house that's for damn sure sooo glad I sold mine and no longer have to deal w all the bs with it and quite pathetic and sad I replaced it for $20 bucks and a whopping 6w max from both fans usb..thats a win win for life in my book..and zero best from it too 15994932311121448424403209834360.jpg
 
Dabhead710

Dabhead710

Well-Known Member
PVC stands for airpumps are a must have cheap and easy to build and get 360 airflow too and can still use the floor space too ...Heres my rdwc I used to have before I switched over to the bucket company and love it stupid fast growth still and recirculates just alot less water and products and power plus a lot more tuneable too and easier to clean I can shut off any bucket I want and remove it with the system running still and no issues like to see u try that in rdwc....
I pretty much didn't use any elbows esp for the 2in PVC so I had access to everywhere water reached and a lot easier to clean and maintain too I also used test plugs for then ends ace hardware has a all plastic one that's really nice...I'm also a huge fan of PVC orbit fittings as well they make 1/2,3/4,1in home depot carries them they do wonders for before and after your return pump as makes threads stupid easy since the pipe will spin inside the fitting no glue obviously and they are removable and replaceable which is how it should be for rdwc...So check em out and ya sorry to blow up your post hopefully it helps and u can get some ideers from it and let me know if u want more pics etc
 

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H

Hippieryan

Well-Known Member
mr4tune said:
Not calling you out all all, but I've found that air heat dissipates rapidly the further away you get from your air pump. Feel the manifold and then feel the lines near the stones. Night and day. I run 12 outlet pumps with m UC systems and yes the pumps get warm but all my air lines are 9' and theres next to no heat added. I also run a 950 GPH pump for 10 sites and I have a high return volume for the "waterfall effect". That being said if I was going to try to run these systems without chillers I would go with a smaller pump as the 950GPH gets hot running 24/7. I had a small fan blowing on each pump to combat the heat prior to installing chillers. If your running UC best to have a chiller anyways and negate all these issues. Regardless, you want air stones and a water fall effect returning water into your epi. Don't do the reverse flow idea dude.

I've never heard of anything in the air contaminating the water either, unless your using co2 and have your pumps in the same room.. IF your air is that shitty to begin with, then your already having problems.
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Did the fans at your pumps make a difference? Just asking, this is a great idea, just wondering how you felt of your before and after results
 
mr4tune

mr4tune

Well-Known Member
Thats a nice setup dabhead. Super clean, i like it....

Hippieryan said:
Did the fans at your pumps make a difference? Just asking, this is a great idea, just wondering how you felt of your before and after results
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They went from hot to warmish. I had x1 of those Honeywell 8" circulating fans on top of each. It only slowed the heat progression, didn't lower my stabilized temp.

I do agree with Dabhead that the chillers are a costly investment, the other statements not so much... I got my 1/4 HP units for $300 each used. New would have been over $1500 CAD. I'd rather spend the money and not ever worry about pythium or root rot, then dump months of power, time, and nutes into a a round to have it ruined. My growth is night and day at 65F compared to 75-80.

Your bashing chillers yet running LED in a 4x4 setup so that's a pretty big determining factor on the chiller dude. Blowing air over my epi center would do nothing. Your method of cooling has to overpower the heat being created. The OP is setting up a 4x8, and forgive me but I don't recall if he mentioned what lighting he's using. Unless he's going LED he will have heat issues. If hes in an unfinished basement with cold cement floors, then things could be managed as the floor acts as a heat sink. Back to the variables... Again not looking to start a fight, but to suggest that a guy doesn't need cooling because you don't is ill advice... I just switched over to LED in one of the tents and the temps are night and day different. Could I get away without a chiller? Doubt it. If I switched my whole room over? Yeah probably... Would it slow the heat progression compared to my CMH's? absolutely. Is everyone able to dump $2k+ on an LED rig for a 4x8? not likely.

I disagree with the power usage and heat output statements too. Yes they run at 350 watts, but they don't run all the time. That's where the insulating comes in. I set them at 65F, and they don't kick on until 67F. I'd say they run maybe 10 minutes out of every hour. They are also rated for 80 gallons each and I'm only running 30 gallons per system so they drop the temps quite fast. The heat output is also dependant on where you place them and again how often they come on. I have them in the room next to my flowering room that is also used as my lung room since I've been running a passive setup. They have yet to raise the temp of that room by even 1C for the 10 minutes they turn on. In a perfect world we would all be running LED and be able to get away with a fan over the res, however...

And just a question, your running 1600 true watts off those x3 panels in the pic? Or is there a 4th? I'm running 650w true over each 4x4 and my lights are dimmed at 60% so I must be missing something here...
 
mr4tune

mr4tune

Well-Known Member
So just checked the first post and he says x2 1000w HPS or MH over the 4x8. Absolutely no fucking way he can get away without a chiller... your comparing apples to melons here man.
 
Dabhead710

Dabhead710

Well-Known Member
Sorry you must be confused as my chiller was for my 8x4 and my 8x8 that I had too and no way you could have 1600watts true power at the wall from hlg LEDs in a 4x4 lol....
and like I said not everyone is going to be able to do the fan chiller so you can call it...As a larger system over pry 200gal would a chiller be needed but also like I said my ambient temp where the res and control aka epicenter is 68-71 and my tent would run at 78-80 w lights on and my h20 never went above 69 ....Which 108cfm took care of vs a 440watt chiller that did 4.6amps as well for the 1/4hp power whore...And no1 ever said to keep using the fans if they didn't work for blowing into the res and having a exhaust for it ..Watch give it 24hr or even 48 and it will keep your shit in range no problems...I also ran my lights during the night 7pm to 7am... So if you want to spend your hard earned money on a chiller and then keep on having to pay for it monthly on top of it and it creating more heat in the room that's not needed...
Now I have a 4.5x4.5ft tent for veg and I agree I didnt need a chiller with that setup it's also only 240w too but I even had 2-4x that even as I had x2 more 240w drivers too and even then I didn't need a chiller @720w .. And just using the central air of the house...Also my basement is finished as well...And yes I will. Bash power whore chillers when you don't need them.but not everyone can do that and of course a large system absolutely need a chiller and high temps....But if he's running leds like I do in my 8x4 he can very easily get away with 108cfm of pc USB fans that costs 20 and cutting 4 holes...
 
Dabhead710

Dabhead710

Well-Known Member
mr4tune said:
Thats a nice setup dabhead. Super clean, i like it....



They went from hot to warmish. I had x1 of those Honeywell 8" circulating fans on top of each. It only slowed the heat progression, didn't lower my stabilized temp.

I do agree with Dabhead that the chillers are a costly investment, the other statements not so much... I got my 1/4 HP units for $300 each used. New would have been over $1500 CAD. I'd rather spend the money and not ever worry about pythium or root rot, then dump months of power, time, and nutes into a a round to have it ruined. My growth is night and day at 65F compared to 75-80.

Your bashing chillers yet running LED in a 4x4 setup so that's a pretty big determining factor on the chiller dude. Blowing air over my epi center would do nothing. Your method of cooling has to overpower the heat being created. The OP is setting up a 4x8, and forgive me but I don't recall if he mentioned what lighting he's using. Unless he's going LED he will have heat issues. If hes in an unfinished basement with cold cement floors, then things could be managed as the floor acts as a heat sink. Back to the variables... Again not looking to start a fight, but to suggest that a guy doesn't need cooling because you don't is ill advice... I just switched over to LED in one of the tents and the temps are night and day different. Could I get away without a chiller? Doubt it. If I switched my whole room over? Yeah probably... Would it slow the heat progression compared to my CMH's? absolutely. Is everyone able to dump $2k+ on an LED rig for a 4x8? not likely.

I disagree with the power usage and heat output statements too. Yes they run at 350 watts, but they don't run all the time. That's where the insulating comes in. I set them at 65F, and they don't kick on until 67F. I'd say they run maybe 10 minutes out of every hour. They are also rated for 80 gallons each and I'm only running 30 gallons per system so they drop the temps quite fast. The heat output is also dependant on where you place them and again how often they come on. I have them in the room next to my flowering room that is also used as my lung room since I've been running a passive setup. They have yet to raise the temp of that room by even 1C for the 10 minutes they turn on. In a perfect world we would all be running LED and be able to get away with a fan over the res, however...

And just a question, your running 1600 true watts off those x3 panels in the pic? Or is there a 4th? I'm running 650w true over each 4x4 and my lights are dimmed at 60% so I must be missing something here...
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There is 4 lights I have x4 hlg qb320 Xl v1 well I actually have 8 of them and selling them tho..And yes I use my p3 killawatt meter I also have x2 meizhi r300 that does 139w at the wall...I also said not everyone can get away without a chiller but if ur setup is in a basement finished or not and u have LEDs and ur res is separate from the grow so it stays at ambient temp of the house and ur temps in the grow aren't above pry idk 82 the fans would be plenty and no chiller needed but like I've said not everyone can do that...So if his setup has those things then he should most definitely give it a try and not hard to do it w/o plants in there to test it all out anyways u know ....
 
mr4tune

mr4tune

Well-Known Member
Definitely. Had I started my grow out with the LED's and not these dual bulb 630's, I would be singing a different tune. I can't even imagine what my temps would be with 1k's over top and no chillers. I still keep both my 4x8's unzipped during lights on just to lower the temps lol. THat being said, even more reason for a guy to jump on the LED wagon. I have no idea why so many people are hating on these things still. They aren't the blurple pieces of shit from a few years back. The technology is unreal and it allows a guy to cut back on everything cooling related, and put that money/watts into more light.

You did a helluva job insulating your system too. I was sick of building mine so when it came to insulation I really slacked making it look good. "Its good from far, but far from good" as they say...
 
mr4tune

mr4tune

Well-Known Member
Dabhead710 said:
Sorry you must be confused as my chiller was for my 8x4 and my 8x8 that I had too and no way you could have 1600watts true power at the wall from hlg LEDs in a 4x4 lol....
and like I said not everyone is going to be able to do the fan chiller so you can call it...As a larger system over pry 200gal would a chiller be needed but also like I said my ambient temp where the res and control aka epicenter is 68-71 and my tent would run at 78-80 w lights on and my h20 never went above 69 ....Which 108cfm took care of vs a 440watt chiller that did 4.6amps as well for the 1/4hp power whore...And no1 ever said to keep using the fans if they didn't work for blowing into the res and having a exhaust for it ..Watch give it 24hr or even 48 and it will keep your shit in range no problems...I also ran my lights during the night 7pm to 7am... So if you want to spend your hard earned money on a chiller and then keep on having to pay for it monthly on top of it and it creating more heat in the room that's not needed...
Now I have a 4.5x4.5ft tent for veg and I agree I didnt need a chiller with that setup it's also only 240w too but I even had 2-4x that even as I had x2 more 240w drivers too and even then I didn't need a chiller @720w .. And just using the central air of the house...Also my basement is finished as well...And yes I will. Bash power whore chillers when you don't need them.but not everyone can do that and of course a large system absolutely need a chiller and high temps....But if he's running leds like I do in my 8x4 he can very easily get away with 108cfm of pc USB fans that costs 20 and cutting 4 holes...
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Ahhhhh that makes way more sense dude.
 
mr4tune

mr4tune

Well-Known Member
Dabhead710 said:
There is 4 lights I have x4 hlg qb320 Xl v1 well I actually have 8 of them and selling them tho..And yes I use my p3 killawatt meter I also have x2 meizhi r300 that does 139w at the wall...I also said not everyone can get away without a chiller but if ur setup is in a basement finished or not and u have LEDs and ur res is separate from the grow so it stays at ambient temp of the house and ur temps in the grow aren't above pry idk 82 the fans would be plenty and no chiller needed but like I've said not everyone can do that...So if his setup has those things then he should most definitely give it a try and not hard to do it w/o plants in there to test it all out anyways u know ....
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Why are you selling the hlgs? I went with the Meijiu 8 bar panels. Decent light, just fuck all for customer service.
 
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